Ablation of prion protein immunoreactivity by heating in saturated calcium hydroxide.
BACKGROUND
Prions, the infectious agents that cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), are relatively resistant to destruction by physical, enzymatic, and chemical treatments. Hydrolysis in boiling saturated calcium hydroxide (limewater) utilizes inexpensive chemicals to digest protein components of offal. The purpose of this work was to determine if incubating brain material from scrapie-infected sheep in near-boiling saturated calcium hydroxide solution (Ca(OH)2) would abolish immunoreactivity of the infectious prion (PrPSc) as determined by western blot.


RESULTS
After incubating for as few as 10 minutes in saturated calcium hydroxide at 99 degrees C, immunoreactivity of protease resistant bands by western blot analysis is completely lost.


CONCLUSIONS
Boiling in limewater may offer an alternative for disposal of carcasses and enable alternative uses for rendered products from potentially infected carcasses.
Greenlee
Justin J
JJ
Virus and Prion Diseases of Livestock Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, 2300 Dayton Avenue, Ames, IA, USA, 50010. justin.greenlee@ars.usda.gov
Nicholson
Eric M
EM
Hamir
Amir N
AN
Noyes
Gary P
GP
Holtzapple
Mark T
MT
Kehrli
Marcus E
ME